Myth 8: A child who learns early will be too far ahead, which is bad for him emotionally.

Sad but true: some parents would actually like their child to be less smart than he is capable of being.

Why? Because they fear that their child will be different, will not fit in, and may feel left out. But what are we saying here? Do we really want to dumb down our children, just so they conform to the norm?

The problem here is not the child who begins learning math as a baby. The problem is the norm, which dictates that children should not learn mathematics before elementary school.

In the words of the 20th-century American inventor and visionary Buckminster Fuller:

“All children are born geniuses, but we spend the first six years of their life de-geniusing them.”

If you’re concerned about how your “too bright” five-year-old will fit in at school, take heart. Yes, your child may be advanced in mathematics – but in every other way she will be a typical five-year-old with typical five-year-old thoughts and feelings. She will still belong in a classroom of her peers. Yes, you will need the teacher to be on board and supportive of the stage your child is at in mathematics or any other subject in which she is advanced.

In the “worst case scenario” that school really is too easy for your child, he may skip a grade or two. This will surely be no bad thing! Children do not tend to skip more than two grades unless they are gifted. Early learning does not make children gifted; it simply helps them to fulfill their true potential.

When a child who benefited from early learning skips a grade or two, it does beg the question: are our children really moving in school at the pace that’s best for them?

But that’s a whole other question!

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In conclusion…